GeneralDisorder

It's more labor than a 4 cylinder - which currently goes for $2500. The H6 would be more in the realm of $3500 - $4000 when you consider cylinder head machine work, labor, etc. You can frequently get the H6 JDM engines for half what a typicaly H4 goes for. Usually about $1200. They are cheap and low mileage. Due to lots of supply and relatively low demand. The math is easy from there. GD

My shop, as is the case with most dealerships, will not perform HG's on any H6's. Replacement JDM engines are CHEAP. Much cheaper than we would charge for a HG job. In our opinion, the EZ30's are good for about 175k to 225k and then they get replaced. GD

10 shouldn't have a filter IIRC. They stopped doing the filters around 07/08 or so. The Amsoil EA15K12 works in place of the stock trans spin on filter and is half the price. GD

The engine makes about 175 brake HP. That's from a 2.5L 4 valve-per-cylinder engine. Scale that up - that's the equivalent of a 5.0 (302) Mustang making 350 brake HP - the Fox Body era 302 made between 245 and 300 HP in stock form. On those it's common to change the exhaust and cam and get up to around 350..... as you can see the Subaru engine is basically already there. You have only 14.7 psi at sea level to push air into the engine..... the little 2.5 is about as volumetrically efficient as it's going to get (well above 90% at WOT). Thus gains to be had are minimal and VERY expensive. Cams could move the power up in the RPM range and you might show an increase in brake HP - probably wouldn't be able to feel it. You would have to tune the computer to take advantage (more cost) and the higher RPM wouldn't be accounted for in the transmission or rear end gearing limiting it's use. To turbocharge an NA model is going to start at about $20,000 to have it done at a shop. Vastly easier and more economical to just buy a turbo model of the same chassis. But honestly the turbo 05/06 OBXT is a pile of dung. They had severe reliability problems unless upgraded at huge expense. The NA models aren't much better - being early CANBUS cars they have..... problems. GD

Well - we can both agree that the thread lubricant goes in as a liquid. After many years of heat cycle it definitely doesn't come out as a liquid anymore. It dries out. So whatever lubricant is used loses it's ability to condense back out into a liquid. Not being a chemist I myself I'm not sure of the exact property that defines this phase change and inability to go back but it ends up "dried out" and that means that some component of it turned to a gas and whatever was left wasn't able to absorb it again. Leading to the hissing and foul smell that we experience. At least that's my theory. Rod bearing failure - was the block main-line honed to restore the clearances? The biggest issue I find is that the main line (especially on #2,3, and 4) gets compressed along the axis of the cylinders and the resulting excessive clearances end in rod bearing failure when the excessive main clearances drop oil pressure to the rods. GD

Likely - and essentially what I always assumed was happening. You have 35mm of thread engagement on the head bolts and oil is used to seal the threads so the bolt is acting like a piston that is compressing the air in the blind hole beneath it. In some cases it leaks past the threads, and in some cases it just waits many years till someone loosens it. There may be additional off-gassing of the thread lubricant/sealant that further raises pressure over time as it changes from a liquid to a gas and expands in volume once the engine is heat cycled and it's vaporization temperature has been exceeded. GD

There is no additional performance to be had. They are already as volumetrically efficient as they are going to get. GD

Nice observation and theory, but they give off the same burst of nasty smelling gasses here at sea level. So I can say it's not altitude related. GD

Get Subaru OEM gaskets. MLS gaskets are not designed for that engine and the gasket used is too thick for MLS to be appropriate. Factory Subaru gaskets were never a problem on the EJ22. Resurface the heads properly. GD

We see water pump failures all the time. We replace them EVERY timing belt change. Same for all the idlers, tensioner, and the thermostat (OEM or Tama only). Gates is Chinese garbage. Same for Fail-Pro - US garbage. They don't know Japanese engines. Junk. OEM 770 or 642 gaskets from the turbo engine. Aisin for the water pump. NTN, Koyo, and NSK for the components. Re-use the bolts. Clean them with mineral spirits. DO NOT wire wheel them. We NEVER replace bolts. Not a failure point. GD

I have considered it..... I have many hobbies that are not Subaru related though and that occupies a LOT of my time. I have three main vehicle modification/restoration projects in progress, I build/restore arcades, collect/build/restore retro computers, and I have two houses to maintain and a business that RUNS ME about 9 days out of the week. When I'm not organizing tax documents that is. GD

There is no significant benefit to a larger filter other than slight (and I do mean SLIGHT) increase in capacity. Subaru's tend to shed a lot of metal into the oil. What you want is a *better* filter. And better isn't always bigger - smaller micron rating, and things like the number of pleats in the element (surface area), and the type/location/psi of the bypass valve are much more important than the size. And the Subaru blue filters are straight garbage. WIX is good for a cheap filter. If you want the best - Amsoil or Royal Purple (same manufacturer). GD

YouTube doesn't care if you thumb down the video - it still counts as views for them. YouTube calls it "engagement" and rewards the YouTuber for negative and positive engagement the same way. GD

+1 No one here wants to watch YouTube videos with n00b tips. We all have this sh1t sorted pal. GD

You should probably call Scotty in engineering..... or perhaps Uhura in communications can sort this out with Startfleet Command? GD

They got some from Japan maybe 6-8 months ago. One of my tech's got a set for his hatch and I got a set for my shelf in case of need on my hatch. Apparently there's still some limited stock in Japan or they are having small runs of them made. GD

The 3AT is garbage and has the same availability of parts problem as the EA82. The local AAMCO needed an oil pump drive for a customer's loyale and one of my tech's had to go through the scrap metal pile at his house to find one that was sort-of acceptable in that it *only* had the teeth half worn through as opposed to almost entirely worn through or stripped in the case of the one being replaced. One of the many flaws in that trans. It can't support any additional HP for any significant length of time. That's why most of them are dead and crushed by now. GD

I've been cutting the bottom off of 5 gallon buckets ever since working in the industrial sector where this is common practice and has been since right after they invented dirt. Spin the bucket through a running bandsaw blade. Can make many heights, cut notches for easier drain, etc. This is nothing new. Wait till dude discovers funnels made from soda bottles! LOL. GD

It sounds like the shop in question DOES NOT HAVE the proper crank holding tool to properly torque the main crank bolt. These yahoo's are going to RUIN your crank snout. You need one of these: https://www.rallysportdirect.com/part/tools/cop-503-2-company23-crank-pulley-tool GD

Don't open the dual sunroofs. Just leave them be. The less you use them, the less they are likely to fail. Leaking isn't the problem - it's when the plastic mechanism's fail or the motors fail that's the issue. Very difficult to replace - even the dealers typically won't do it unless the customer buys a new assembly - which is likely no longer available. Mileage seems a bit low for a non-Outback. GD

Beware the poor quality oil used by the dealers for their "free" oil changes. Also the oil change kids at the dealers regularly leave the drain plugs and filters loose. Double check that stuff. GD

Eh - it's not that much of a difference overall - whoever has the best warranty/customer service in your area would be the best choice IMO. All other things being equal - I generally lean toward BF Goodrich. Their tires have been excellent on everything from off road to street performance. GD

Just buy from whoever has them cheapest on ebay/aliexpress/etc - it's the same plastic Chinese $hit being sold by everyone. Clear coat them with some automotive two-part epoxy clear coat - https://www.amazon.com/SprayMax-Glamour-Gloss-Aerosol-Clear/dp/B0082LJMC6 This will help seal them against leaking. All the aftermarket housings leak after a short time. Apply multiple coats and let it seep into all the seams, etc. GD

With the LINK you can do a full on flex fuel tune the can accommodate for any percentage of Ethanol automatically. I would keep it extremely conservative on the pump gas side and make all the power on E. That's our usual methodology. GD

Yes you can revert back to stock if you "mess up" assuming you don't mess up by bricking the ECU such as interrupting the flash process, etc. There is more to it than *just* eliminating the P0420 code. First of all you CANNOT remove the rear O2 sensor - just get that out of your head completely if you figured on it. The ECU will not go ready and there's no way to make it do so if the rear O2 is bad or missing. Second - there is a table for post-cat fuel trim that you need to zero out - if you don't - some years of cars allow the post-cat trim to add or subtract as much as 50% to the primary fueling - a bad sensor can therefore still make the car essentially undrivable under the right conditions. We really don't understand this design choice since the combined long and short term primary wideband fuel trims aren't even this high. It's weird to say the least but such is life when you start messing with factory calibrations - at least it's not a Ford with Torque Modeling and 40 or 50 fueling tables. GD